


so far east i'm westbound

by aroundu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bittersweet, Long-Distance Relationship, Love, M/M, Time differences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26572441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroundu/pseuds/aroundu
Summary: “Hmph,” Hinata sounded muffled, likely pressing his cheek into his pillow, “but you can nag me? ‘S too early to be nagged.”“It’s only 8 in the morning! That’s hardly early at all! It’s rather late if you ask me, and you know how stressful it is waiting for you to wake up? Last week you slept in until noon!” Tsukasa’s complaints held no sort of weight to them when he couldn’t fight the smile off his face to scowl.
Relationships: Aoi Hinata/Suou Tsukasa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	so far east i'm westbound

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "Wake Up" by EDEN

Tsukasa’s fingers fiddled with the edge of his phone case, sliding it off, and rubbing his fingers in the concave plastic corner before clicking it back on. It slid against the power button, lighting the screen up, showing the analog clock with the hours hand ticking ever so slowly to twelve. He bit his lip, and again slid the case off to play with it.

His unopened message sat sent and delivered in his most recent contact’s inbox, but in this moment Tsukasa’s only company was the slow drawl of time ticking by. He was self-aware enough to ignore the insecurities beginning to brew due to the impatience of his heart, and biting his lip was his only solution against typing another message that would receive zero response until morning on another side of the world. 

It was almost 8am in a country that he longed to return to, and minutes away from being midnight in the one he resided. Tapping his tongue against the back of his front teeth, he turned his phone on to look at the screen, resisting a groan when not a single minute had passed.

Despite the late hour, the city campus continued to bustle all the same with the encroaches of a buoyant nightlife, and Tsukasa’s sole entertainment for the past half an hour had been sitting at his desk chair rocking back and forth while watching young adults walk alone, in partners, or in groups to whatever destination was so imperative to reach on a chilly night like this, where breaths became clouds in the air. Well, the luring temptation of a drink to warm your blood in a pub where everyone around you suddenly is the greatest friend you’ve ever had is a big one, though not one he counts as one of his own. His only temptation was to draw his fingers against an illuminated keyboard and send message after message until his phone wouldn’t be able to keep up with his staggering fingertips.

People watching was a pass time for a patient person, and Tsukasa simply wasn’t that.

There was homework he could do, assignments and papers with due dates weeks away, or he could pull out a textbook and start making a study guide for a quiz he had next week. His brain was void of any sort of scholarly thought, and it would feel like a waste to try and force himself to commit to anything. He preferred to spend his idle time chewing on his lip and rocking in his chair, watching people walk on with joyous laughter and the occasional loud shout.

Yet, not a single sense of envy nicked at his heart. Only a dull irritation pestered him, but it wasn’t from the strangers on the street. 

Another moment to check his phone, and another groan passed his lips. Another creak as he leaned forward and his chair landed on all four legs. Another glance outside the window to see the rain pick up and turn to a pour rather than a drizzle.

And then his phone vibrated, followed by a cheerful chime that alerted him to the notification coming up on his screen.

His hands moved fast as if he had dropped the device and snatched it up off the desk, swiping with an automatic movement to open his messaging app. He didn’t even bother reading the message typed out, though the smiling and heart emojis tickled his chest, and tapped on the phone icon. The screen changed to a dialing one with a blown up icon of a smiling ginger’s face, and he held it up to his ear. The dialing tone didn’t make it past the second ring before it clicked and a loud yawn boomed in Tsukasa’s ear.

“Good morning, Hinata-kun.” 

“Ugh… g’mornin’ ‘kasa-kun.”

Tsukasa’s lips stretched across his face in a grin to match the fluttering in his heart. “Don’t call me ‘Kasa-kun’ or I’m going to think of my senior mentor, and the last thing I want to do is imagine his nagging.”

“Hmph,” Hinata sounded muffled, likely pressing his cheek into his pillow, “but you can nag me? ‘S too early to be nagged.”

“It’s only 8 in the morning! That’s hardly early at all! It’s rather late if you ask me, and you know how stressful it is waiting for you to wake up? Last week you slept in until noon!” Tsukasa’s complaints held no sort of weight to them when he couldn’t fight the smile off his face to scowl. 

Miles apart could never wane the adoration he held in his heart for Hinata. Similar to how the Sun, so impossibly far away from the Earth, warmed the Earth, the echoes of passion in their blooming relationship continued to pulse through his body like blood running oxygen in his veins. Admittedly, it felt more like he was on Neptune, and the Sun’s rays grazed against him no stronger than a wind faltering against daisies. It was more likely for them to be linked by lingering stardust dancing across their fingertips rather than being lucky enough to hold each other in lonely arms.

At least Tsukasa had the fortune to hear the smothering of pillows and an exaggerated whine.

“Tsukasa-kuuunnn~ Jus’ woke up. Be nice to me~” Another yawn passed through his lips, crackling kindly through the speakers. “I only slept in late because my rehearsal ran late, but you can’t blame me for that.”

There was no helping that, Tsukasa knew how important Hinata’s acting career was becoming to him. He enjoyed listening to line recitations, character names changed to their own and soliquoys that fell from his lips like a pouring waterfall. He loved that there was something for Hinata to spend time doing, but when their time to talk time was sapped up, then Tsukasa couldn’t stop jealousy from stinging his heart and every insecurity building up into a stormcloud sweeping across his brain.

The last thing he wanted was to start an argument when he was easily one click away from being ghosted across the globe, so he bit his tongue on such thoughts. “I’ll be nice only because I know how sensitive you are.”

Hinata’s breath halted and then he failed to keep back a poorly restrained snort. “I am  _ not _ the sensitive one here! Tsukasa-kun gets mad if I so much as mention the one time I beat him at chess.”

“You cheated! You-” Tsukasa sat up in his chair and dug his fingers into his lap. “You stole my pieces when I wasn’t looking! You didn’t win! You’re a little cheater and-”

“Then what about the one time we played virtual chess? I beat you then, and with no thievery~”

Tsukasa stayed silent.

The rain hit against his window like it was playing a gentle little song just for him, and he’d like to enjoy it but Hinata’s snickering was so much more intoxicating to listen to, and he pressed his phone closer to his ear as if doing so would make him feel the warm breaths. His own breath locked itself in his throat, body too focused listening to the laughter to care about its own survival.

Giggles died down, calmed with a sigh, and yet Tsukasa could still imagine Hinata’s large grin when he spoke. “Ah, but it’s not as fun riling you up if I can’t see your face getting all red~ So! Tell me, are you having a fun weekend? Big plans? You better not be holed up in your room studying!”

He looked at the scattered notebooks on his desk, opened to a variety of pages where he was copying information to transfer to flashcards before he’d sent his good morning text to Hinata. He glanced outside the window, viewing a couple sharing an umbrella, and snapped his head back to his desk, making a half-hearted effort of cleaning it up.

“Well, I have some tests next week, so I was planning on staying in to get a jumpstart on studying.” He paused, trying to think of  _ anything _ interesting he was doing so Hinata wouldn’t worry. “Ah! I was also going to go to a volunteer meeting tomorrow afternoon, apparently joining an organization like that is incredibly beneficial for your resumes here.”

“So, you aren’t doing anything.”

Tsukasa frowned. “I am! This is important!”

“Sweetie, don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have any friends- and don’t say any of the other heirs! That’s business stuff!”

Silence settled between them, nothing more than a stray crackle from phone static to occupy it, because Tsukasa had no answer to give. He always had such a hard time making friends- he would forever be surprised he managed to even begin dating Hinata- and it felt all the more difficult when he was told by his parents to focus on building beneficial relations for the company. 

Moving across the world because his parents said so should’ve been easy. He’s been following their instructions all his life, and he knows they care about him and want him to succeed, and he’s never wanted to let them down. 

He always expected his first relationship would come from an arranged marriage, with a lovely lady from a business relation. When he met Hinata, he realized how clouded his entire life was. His heart was dialed to ten when it had always been on zero, and he choked on the intensity of passion, and craved it all the same. A second blazing sun entered his life and he sweated under the sweltering heat.

And a spoiled brat like him, raised with selfish nobility, he wanted nothing more than the love of the second sun.

Hinata was a breath of fresh air from his stuffy life, but it came at the cost of Hinata having experienced a completely different path than himself. Lying about his age just so he could work a part-time job and bring home some extra cash, and when he was found out, stuck to shoplifting and wallet-snatching. Even when they first started dating, Tsukasa didn’t miss how he’d stare at loose jewelry or purses, like a panther prowling the jungle and focusing on its kill. Nor could he ignore how, upon telling Hinata that he’d have to go overseas for university, his response was a blank face then a dry laugh, carried with a rough explanation that everyone leaves. Nothing is permanent for him.

Tsukasa wanted to be permanent. Already had he dreamt of weddings and children, of a dazzling and warm future to share with him. When they were still together, he’d done everything to show how much he loved Hinata.

Everything but say the words.

Speaking such honest words- it should have been as easy as packing his suitcases and boarding the plane to London. He should have said it at the airport while his bones were crushed by the hug his sunshine gave him, but instead what passed his lips was nothing more than a lame goodbye.

“Sweetie? Hey, there’s nothing wrong with focusing on school and business stuff! But if you only do that, then you’re going to come back to me all wrinkly, y’know~?” The syllables fell from his lips as slow as a leaf drifting to the ground, though Tsukasa wasn’t sure if that was because he purposefully talked slow or if the call was starting to lag.

Regret burned in his gut, and his hand found itself tugging at a strand of his hair. He missed Hinata’s hands petting his hair, playing with it, and he missed how perfect his nails were kept, manicured so finely as to betray the nature of his class. He missed playing with the orange hair, and thousands of miles away he was taunted with messages and pictures of Hinata growing it out for his role. He missed holding hands, holding him, and he missed every way he could express his love without having to say the words.

He doesn’t want to carry that regret anymore.

“I know. When I come back to you, I promise no wrinkles. My parents sent me here with all sorts of skin care stuff. I just,” Tsukasa trailed off, biting his lip and muffling his next words. “Have to figure out how to use it…”

“Tsu~ka~sa~ We’ll have to schedule a video chat and have a date night. I’ll show… to use …’thing can do face masks together! Won’t... fun? Ah- but... tech we- ...so we’ll ha-... after… sure you... last..., can’t you, swe-..?” 

Tsukasa squinted and pulled the phone away from his ear, seeing his reception bars still full, and no other present errors on his side. “Hinata-kun? Honey, you’re breaking up- can you still hear me?”

“-kasa…? N-... ‘llo..? -ter… bad ri-... go-...bye!”

“No!” Tsukasa pulled the device back up to his ear, pressing with an uncomfortable amount of force but so, so desperate to bring Hinata’s voice back to him. “No, please! Don’t hang up! Just wait for the reception to get better!”

He grew to hate the end call sound more and more as he would have these conversations with Hinata, but hearing the click of the hanging up notification stirred no rage in Tsukasa. It was more like a cruel taunt, and instead of rising to it with fiery agitation, he accepted it as his fate to be a distant lover, and spoke his last words to his audience of nothing but the raindrops puttering against his window.

“I love you, Hinata.”

**Author's Note:**

> uni is kicking my ass but hinakasa make it better and i love them so much.  
> here's my [twitter](https://twitter.com/AOlHlNATA)


End file.
